Interests of Disabled People

Lord Ashley of Stoke: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will ensure that the interests of disabled people are fully represented in any new organisation dealing with discrimination.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: Yes. The Government are committed to making sure that disabled people would continue to be served effectively if any new organisation dealing with discrimination were to be established.

Disabled People: Pensions

Lord Campbell of Croy: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What facilities will be available to enable disabled people to draw their pensions when local post offices and rural branches have closed.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The Government are committed to the maintenance of a nationwide network of post offices. The formal requirement on Consignia, then the Post Office, of November 2000 to maintain the network and to prevent any avoidable closures of rural post offices remains in place initially until 2006. We have made available a £2 million fund to support volunteer and community initiatives to maintain or reopen post offices facilities in rural areas where traditional service would otherwise close. In addition, the Government are developing proposals for the rural network in the context of the Postal Services Commission's advice on the best way to channel financial assistance to the rural network.
	Banking will be a central part of the strategy of Post Office Limited to move forward. Universal banking service, together with plans for expansion of network banking—the provision of counter service for ordinary current accounts—should lead to a substantial increase in the range and volume of banking at post offices.

Biomass

Lord Inglewood: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In the light of the commitments into which they recently entered at the Johannesburg Summit, whether they will introduce measures to promote the production of hydrogen from biomass and the encouragement of the production of biomass for this purpose.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The Government have announced their intention to establish a hydrogen and low carbon fuels R&D programme, including a limited demonstration programme.
	There are a number of techno-economic issues associated with the use of hydrogen as a fuel (particularly for transport applications) including storage, distribution, safety and consumer acceptance; these matters are under active consideration. This programme is one of several government initiatives of potential future benefit to the biomass sector.

Enterprise Bill

Lord Hunt of Wirral: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What additional resources will be made available to the Official Receiver to cope with the reformed system for personal bankruptcies proposed in the Enterprise Bill.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The Enterprise Bill puts in place mechanisms to reform the financial regime of the Insolvency Service. As a result of these reforms, the fee structure will become simpler and more transparent, and in future the cost of case administration will be fully recovered through fees.
	The Insolvency Service has been given additional funding over the next two years which will enable it to be ready to introduce the proposed reforms. It will be necessary to invest in both the infrastructure of the Insolvency Service and in the training of its staff so that it can continue delivering the levels of service its customers expect. The additional funding will allow this investment to take place.

Enterprise Bill

Lord Hunt of Wirral: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the Insolvency Services' internal guidance to the Official Receivers' staff on the revisions concerning personal insolvency proposed in the Enterprise Bill will be made public and be open to consultation.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: In line with Insolvency Service policy for publishing material under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, internal guidance for staff relating to the administrative aspects of the Enterprise Bill's individual insolvency proposals will be published. However, guidance on enforcement matters, including the operation of the system for bankruptcy restrictions orders, will not be published.

Enterprise Bill

Lord Hunt of Wirral: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What discussions were held with the consumer credit industry in drawing up the regulatory impact assessment for the Enterprise Bill, which concluded that the reforms proposed would have no cost implications for the industry.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: The 2001 White Paper Productivity and Enterprise—Insolvency A Second Chance contained a draft regulatory impact assessment. A wide range of organisations responded to the White Paper, including representatives of the finance sector and consumer credit organisations, and their views helped inform the regulatory impact assessment for the Bill.

Enterprise Bill

Lord Hunt of Wirral: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What evidence was considered from other jurisdictions when putting together the personal insolvency reforms proposed in the Enterprise Bill.

Lord Sainsbury of Turville: While formulating the individual insolvency proposals we looked at evidence from and reforms in a wide range of jurisdictions, including Scotland, Canada, the US, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, as well as other regimes in Europe.

Biodegradable Waste

Lord Lewis of Newnham: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the definition of biodegradable and hazardous waste in relation to deposition in landfill sites.

Lord Whitty: The Landfill (England and Wales) Regulations 2002 define biodegradable waste as any waste that is capable of undergoing anaerobic or aerobic decomposition, such as food or garden waste and paper and cardboard. "Hazardous waste" is defined as waste listed as hazardous in the list drawn up by the Commission in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 18 of the Council Directive 75/442/EEC on the basis of Annexes I and II to the Hazardous Waste Directive. These wastes must have one or more of the properties listed in Annex III of that Directive.

Blood Plasma

Lord Clement-Jones: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they consider solvent detergent-treated transfusion plasma produced from United States of America plasma to be a safer product than fresh frozen plasma derived from United Kingdom donors in respect of both the known risks of viral and bacterial transmission and acute lung injury; and the unknown risks of vCJD infectivity; and
	Why they have not requested the National Blood Service to use a safer form of transfusion plasma to reduce the mortality and morbidity levels associated with fresh frozen plasma as reported in the Serious Hazards of Transfusion report.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The Government's Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Blood and Tissue for Transplantation is continuing to consider the relative efficacy and risks of the different types of fresh frozen plasma (FFP) available.
	United Kingdom FFP is already a very safe product. To minimise the risk from viruses, it is made only from previously tested blood donors. Since the year 2000, an additional test for hepatitis C has been added. As a result the risk from a unit of FFP is estimated to be one in 5 million for HIV and lower than one in 1 million for hepatitis C. Over 300,000 units of FFP are issued annually and it is only given in life-threatening situations to prevent or stop haemorrhage associated with abnormal blood clotting.
	The National Blood Service is conducting an option appraisal of means to minimise the risk of transfusion-related acute lung injury from FFP.

Blood Plasma

Lord Clement-Jones: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Given the announcement by the National Blood Service in its letter of 8 February that it has insufficient funds to provide methylene blue treated fresh frozen plasma to all patients, when they will announce and allocate sufficient funding increases to allow all National Health Service patients to access virus-inactivated plasma.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: As an added precaution against the theoretical risk of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, the Government announced on 15 August that fresh frozen plasma (FFP) for young children and babies will be imported from the United States. This FFP will be treated with methylene blue to reduce the risk of viral transmission still further for this most vulnerable group. This decision was made following advice from the Advisory Committee on Microbiological Safety of Blood and Tissues for Transplantation (MSBT) which is continuing to review the safety of FFP.
	To cover the additional costs of methylene blue treatment of FFP for neonates and children born after 1 January 1996, the Department of Health's National Commissioning Group on Blood agreed that the National Blood Service could increase the charge made to National Health Service trusts for this product.
	MSBT is continuing to keep this issue under review but there are currently no plans to allocate further funding for methylene blue treatment.

Blood Plasma

Lord Clement-Jones: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether it is appropriate that the National Blood Service, as a provider of blood and blood derived products to the National Health Service, should be the only representative of manufacturers on national committees, such as the National Transfusion Committee and Serious Hazards of Transfusion, where policy decisions taken may affect product choice and patient use in the National Health Service.

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: The National Blood Service (NBS) was established by the Secretary of State for Health as a special health authority under the National Health Service Act 1977 to exercise functions in relation to the preparation and supply of blood and blood products for the NHS. It is therefore appropriate that the NBS is invited to sit on relevant national committees, not to represent manufacturers but as a non-profit-making statutory body providing an essential service to the whole of the NHS.

Health and Safety Commission: Transport Driving Standards

Lord Berkeley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What duties and responsibilities the Health and Safety Commission has in setting standards for safe driving of:
	(a) passenger service vehicles and buses; and
	(b) trains; and who is responsible to the commission for discharging them.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: (a) Health and Safety law requires duty holders such as passenger service and bus operators to ensure their staff, including drivers, are competent to discharge their responsibilities. HSC is under no duty to set standards for drivers, and it is not policy to do so where other authorities are better placed to develop them.
	The standard for safe driving is set by the driving test and the training that is needed in order to pass it. The Driving Standards Agency is responsible for conducting driving tests for all vehicle types in Great Britain.
	(b) Health and safety law requires duty holders, such as train operators, to ensure that their staff, including train drivers, are competent to discharge their responsibilities. The Health and Safety Commission is under no duty to set standards for drivers, although it has issued guidance to employers on assessing competence.

Health and Safety Commission: Transport Driving Standards

Lord Berkeley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they are satisfied that the Health and Safety Commission is discharging its statutory obligations to reduce workplace accidents and fatalities on the roads when over 3,000 people, many of them at work, are killed on the roads every year; and whether they are satisfied with this level of accidents.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: In 2000, the Government, in their Road Safety Strategy Tomorrow's Roads: Safer for Everyone, set out 10-year targets for reducing road traffic casualties. An independent task group was asked to examine the scale of work-related road incidents and recommend measures aimed at reducing these incidents.
	The task group published its report in November 2001. I am satisfied that HSE is working closely with the Department for Transport in taking forward a programme of work which is designed to reduce work related road incidents. A copy of the group's report and HSC's advice has been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.

Disabled People: Fuel Costs

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they have any plans to extend winter fuel payments to severely disabled people.

Baroness Hollis of Heigham: Help is already available through disability living allowance paid in recognition of the extra costs, including heating, which disabled people may have. There are no plans to extend the winter fuel payment scheme to disabled people under age 60.

Belfast: Riotous Behaviour

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many people have been charged with riotous behaviour in Belfast since 1 January 2002.

Lord Williams of Mostyn: From 1 January to 4 October 2002, 51 persons have been charged with riotous/disorderly behaviour in Belfast. This statistic is provisional and may be subject to amendment.

Cabinet Committee Meetings

Lord Patten: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Privy Seal on 29 July (WA 160), how the giving of information on the occasion and duration of Cabinet and Cabinet Committee meetings "could inhibit the use of the full range of effective decision making processes".

Lord Williams of Mostyn: I have nothing to add to the replies that I gave the noble Lord on 7 May, 21 May, 17 June, 10 July and 25 July.

Network Rail Board Members

Lord Stoddart of Swindon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What qualifications and experience the chairman, deputy chairman, chief executive and deputy chief executive of Network Rail have in respect of infrastructure maintenance; railway operation and safety; and the duties and management of railway staff; and on what basis Ministers made the recent appointments.

Lord Macdonald of Tradeston: The recent appointments to the Network Rail Board were made by that company, not by Ministers. A copy of the Network Rail press release, which outlines the past work experience and expertise of each of the board members, has been placed in the Library of the House.

Speed Cameras

Lord Berkeley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What research evidence informed their decision to require speed cameras to be painted yellow.

Lord Macdonald of Tradeston: None. This requirement has been in place only since 1 June but feedback already suggests that there is even better compliance with the speed limits at sites that operate yellow cameras.

Speed Cameras

Lord Berkeley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What proportion of the following vehicles are recorded as exceeding speed limits (a) cars where the speed limit is 30 miles per hour; (b) cars where the speed limit is 70 miles per hour; (c) lorries where the speed limit are 30 miles per hour; (d) trains at any speed.

Lord Macdonald of Tradeston: The estimates for cars and lorries exceeding the speed limit on roads with a 30 mph is given in the following table.
	
		Percentage of cars and lorries recorded exceeding the speed limit on roads with a 30 mph speed limit: 2001
		
			  Exceeding 30 mph limit More than 5 mph over limit 
			 Cars 65 32 
			 Rigid 2 axle HGV 55 20 
			 Rigid 3 axle HGV 51 15 
			 Articulated 3 axle HGV 44 12 
			 Rigid/articulated 4 axle HGV 49 16 
			 Rigid/articulated 5 or more axles HGV 42 10 
		
	
	In 2001 on motorways 54 per cent of cars were recorded as exceeding the speed limit. On dual carriageway roads, with a 70 mph speed limit for cars, 51 per cent of cars were recorded exceeding the speed limit. The department does not hold figures on trains exceeding speed limits. However, Railtrack Plc has advised that for the period 31 March to 20 July 2002 there were 53 incidents of trains overspeeding on the national rail network. This equates to 0.01 per cent of trains exceeding speed limits.

Heathrow Terminal 5: Transportation of Construction Material

Lord Berkeley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What conditions were applied in the determination of the planning application for Heathrow Terminal 5 requiring construction materials to be transported to sites by rail; and what construction works are being planned and built to enable compliance with these conditions.

Lord Macdonald of Tradeston: Conditions attached to the planning consent for Terminal 5 are set out in Annex G(i) of the decision letter. Condition A107, Commitment to Delivery of Certain Materials by Rail, states:
	"Except in emergency (which for the avoidance of doubt shall include industrial action) and unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Local Planning Authority and provided that permission is granted for the Colnbrook Logistics Centre pursuant to application No P/09924/005 in terms which allow construction of railhead facilities in time and of sufficient capacity, and with exception of those materials required during the first six months of the development whilst the railhead is being established up to a maximum of 50,000 tonnes, BAA will not import other than by rail all its requirements for crushed rock aggregates, cement and cement replacement powders and reinforcing steel for use in construction of the development hereby permitted".
	A rail depot is to be constructed at Colnbrook, Colnbrook Logistics Centre, in accordance with application referred to in condition A107 and in accordance with the Secretary of State's consent.

Heathrow Terminal 5: Transportation of Construction Material

Lord Berkeley: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will list the volumes of tonnages of the main categories of materials for the construction of Heathrow Terminal 5 planned to be transported to the site or adjacent terminals by (a) rail; (b) road; and (c) air.

Lord Macdonald of Tradeston: This matter is referred to in the inspector's report under Topic Report 9, section 3, The Case for Spelthorne, Construction, paragraph 3.5.5. This indicated that BAA's estimate at that time was that 22 per cent of material would be likely to come by rail. Local distribution would be by road.
	I am not aware of any breakdown of materials to be transported by other modes of transport.

Cycling on Pavements

Lord Campbell of Croy: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they are taking action to stop bicycles being ridden on pavements.

Lord Macdonald of Tradeston: Cycling on the pavement is illegal and the police have powers to prosecute or issue fixed penalty notices (£30) to cyclists. Cyclists can also be prosecuted for dangerous cycling if the police feel such action is warranted. Enforcement of the law is a matter for the police. However, we abhor the behaviour of those minority of cyclists who take to the pavement, endangering vulnerable road users such as the elderly and children.

Public Bodies: Appointment of Women

Baroness Howe of Idlicote: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Macdonald of Tradeston on 24 September (WA 236) expressing the Government's total commitment to increasing diversity at all levels of appointment, including those at chair and deputy chair, whether they will now set targets (or require targets to be set) for the number of women who will be chairs or chief executives of those public bodies for which government departments are responsible.

Lord Macdonald of Tradeston: There are no plans at the present time for the Government to set a specific target for the number of women who will be chairs or chief executives of public bodies. However, the Government are continuing to look for increased diversity in all public appointments and that, of course, means more women holding both chair and chief executive positions.